MIT's Graduate Student Union announced a tentative agreement Tuesday, putting the brakes on a strike that had been authorized by an overwhelming majority of members just weeks earlier. The agreement now goes to more than 3,000 union members for a ratification vote.
“A strike is postponed pending ratification of the agreement by members,” union leaders said, according to The Boston Globe. Union leaders announced the tentative agreement Tuesday, subject to ratification. The breakthrough came after union leaders and school officials had met 17 times since April, with graduate workers laboring without a contract since June.
The tentative agreement puts a strike scheduled for later that week on hold pending ratification.
A Strike Vote That Nearly Walked Out the Door
The tentative deal comes just weeks after graduate workers voted to authorize a strike over wages, affordable health care, and protections for international employees, with balloting held on Oct. 22. The Tech reported that 92.5 percent of the 1,708 ballots cast favored authorization. Either way, it was a lopsided show of support following roughly 14 failed bargaining sessions, according to the Globe's October coverage.
Student reporting from The Tech tracked the slow grind toward a deal: negotiations for this second contract began April 24, and by late September just three of 26 proposed contract articles had reached tentative agreement. By Oct. 23, after 15 bargaining sessions, that number had crept up to seven articles — including provisions on grievance procedures, nondiscrimination, workload, and childcare, according to an MIT statement posted to the university's organization chart site.
What the Union Was Asking For
Wages were among the issues behind the union's strike authorization.
On health care, workers had raised affordability concerns. The union had also called for protections for international employees.
Other MIT Unions Watching Closely
The graduate union isn't the only organized labor group on campus that's been flexing muscle this fall. Roughly 600 MIT facilities workers represented by 32BJ SEIU were poised to vote on their own strike authorization in late October, the Globe reported, while about 39 MIT police officers had been working without a contract since July, though they weren't weighing a strike at the time. Separately, UE Local 256 received authority to call a strike, according to seed reporting on the broader labor landscape at the university.
What Happens Next
For now, the strike is paused pending ratification, and the agreement's fate rests with union members. More than 3,000 members are expected to vote on whether to ratify the agreement.
